Passwords are important for account security, and are sometimes all that stand between strangers and your personal information or online accounts. This means that it can be very damaging if someone gets unauthorised access to your login details. In this guide, we discuss compensation that can be awarded as part of a password data breach claim.
By reading through the start of the guide, you can learn how data protection breach compensation may address financial harm or emotional distress. However, not all data breaches provide grounds to make a claim. With that in mind, we outline the data protection law that is worth keeping in mind, as well as the eligibility requirements for a data breach compensation claim.
As you progress, you will also get useful guidance on what a data security violation could mean for an individual and how they can prove their case against the organisation responsible for failing to protect their personal data.
Finally, we explain what is meant by a No Win No Fee agreement. Read through this section to learn the benefits of getting legal representation from our specialist solicitors.
You can learn more about data breach claims, and ask for your potential case to be evaluated, through our free support service. Use any of the contact details below to connect to us any time or day:
- Call our helpline on 0800 073 8801.
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Select A Section
- How To Calculate A Password Data Breach Claim
- What Is A Password Data Breach?
- How Could A Password Data Breach Occur?
- What Evidence Could Support A Password Data Breach Claim?
- Why Choose A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor?
- Find Out More About Password Data Breach Claims
How To Calculate A Password Data Breach Claim
Making a password data breach claim can address non-material damage. It aims to compensate for how the data breach affected the claimant’s emotional well-being. Seeing information breached can have serious consequences for a person’s mental health, such as causing stress, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It can also make mental health problems worse if they existed in some form already.
When non-material damage is worked out for a breached data protection claim, those calculating compensation may look at medical evidence and a document with guideline figures called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG.) We have gathered JCG brackets to make the table you can see below.
Compensation Table
This table features excerpts from the JCG. Please note that the top line is not a JCG entry. Data breach claim compensation differs from case to case, so this table is a guide only.
| ILLNESS | LEVEL | COMPENSATION | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Illness Plus Financial Costs or Losses | Very Serious | Up to £500,000+ | A payout that covers significant material damage such as loss of employment and non-material damage, such as with severe PTSD. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Severe | £54,830 - £115,730 | The impacted person has marked problems with different factors. This includes their ability to handle life generally, as well as the extent of how successful treatment can be. |
| Moderately Severe | £19,070 - £54,830 | A more optimistic prognosis is given than for those with severe symptoms, but there are still significant issues with factors like coping with education or work and future vulnerability. | |
| Moderate | £5,860 - £19,070 | While there are still problems, there is a marked improvement and the prognosis is good. | |
| PTSD | Severe | £59,860 - £100,670 | The injured person is permanently affected, as are all aspects of their life. |
| Moderately Severe | £23,150 - £59,860 | There is a better prognosis than in severe cases, but the effects are still significantly disabling. | |
| Moderate | £8,180 - £23,150 | The injured person can largely recover. Ongoing effects are not grossly disabling. |
Material Damage
The data breach can cause financial losses, in which case the claimant can seek material damage compensation. This form of compensation is there to help someone who suffered economic loss due to a data breach.
A password breach could lead to you losing money from your bank account. Alternatively, you may have suffered a loss of earnings due to needing time away from work due to your mental health.
It is worth noting that you can seek compensation for both non-material and material damage or just one of the two.
For more information on claiming compensation and to discuss what you could claim for, please call the number above at any time.
What Is A Password Data Breach?
Any party that processes your data must ensure that they follow two key pieces of legislation, which are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). There are two main enities that will have responsibility for your personal data: a data controller who decides the means and purpose for the data processing and a data processor who can be instructed by the controller to process the data on their behalf.
Personal data is the information that is protected by these data protection laws this can include your name, address and any passwords. It is information that can be used to identify you. When you create login credentials on a website, including your password, this is classed as processed personal data and must be kept secure.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent body that protects citizens’ data rights. They can investigate and potentially penalise an organisation if they are responsible for a personal data breach, which the ICO defines as a security incident impacting the confidentiality, availability or integrity of an individual or group’s personal information.
A data subject could make a password data breach claim if:
- A data controller or processor did not act correctly under data protection laws.
- Because of this, a data breach occurred that affected their personal data i.e. password.
- This led to them suffering emotional harm, financial loss, or both.
How Could A Password Data Breach Occur?
You can’t necessarily claim password data breach compensation in every case where a password is compromised. These examples illustrate when a data protection breach could lead the affected individual to claim compensation.
- A hacker is able to easily collect passwords in a cyber attack because the company they targeted does not have adequate security measures. The hacker is then able to use the passwords to commit identity theft, making payments and applications in the affected individuals’ names.
- A bank creates a customer’s unique password for them, but sends it to the wrong email address, which gives an unauthorised person access to the customer’s bank details.
- In a case of human error, an administrator leaves a work laptop on public transport. The laptop is unprotected and contains employees’ personal information and passwords.
Have you suffered emotional or financial harm because your data security was compromised? Call the number above today and find out if you have the right to make a password data breach claim.
What Evidence Could Support A Password Data Breach Claim?
Evidence is vital to any password data breach claim. Such cases are dependent on showing that a data controller or processor did not follow the right legislation and that the data breach resulted in mental or financial harm. Consider the following as relevant proof you could gather:
- A notification given by the data controller, normally in the form of a notification letter or email, that confirms that a data breach occurred.
- Records of your correspondence with the organisation.
- The outcome of an ICO investigation. Affected data subjects could complain to the ICO if the data controller’s reply is not satisfactory, and they may choose to look into the issue.
- Proof of material damage. This can include bank statements, credit card summaries or similar financial information.
- Medical records, which you can request a copy of from your healthcare provider. This will help prove any non-material damage.
If you have spotted suspicious activity or believe there is a data breach affecting you but have not been notified, you could speak directly to the data controller.
As part of the legal assistance they provide, our solicitors can help put together evidence to prove data breach cases are valid. Call today to find out how else they could help you.
Why Choose A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor?
Our solicitors are expert legal professionals and could take on your case if they identify a valid claim. They work on a No Win No Fee basis, which is ideal if you are concerned about legal costs.
Should you sign up for legal representation from one of our No Win No Fee solicitors, you would be offered a Conditional Fee Agreement. Due to this deal, the solicitor agrees not to charge a fee for their efforts before or during any case. They would also not request solicitor fees at any time if the claim fails.
If your compensation claim is successful, your solicitor takes a success fee. This is a small percentage of the compensation, and the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 makes sure the cut is small as it applies a legal cap.
Start Your Password Data Breach Claim
If you’d like to learn more about what legal support our solicitors offer for a GDPR breach compensation claim, just get in touch today.
Our straightforward service includes a case assessment, where you can learn if you have a valid password data breach claim. You could then be connected to a solicitor for expert guidance.
We’ve made it easy to reach our helpful advisors at any time. Just go through any of these routes for 24/7 support:
- Phone us on 0800 073 8801.
- Contact us online.
- Start a live chat conversation in the pop-up box below.
Find Out More About Password Data Breach Claims
Here are some more of our guides:
- Learn when having data sent to the wrong postal address could lead to a claim.
- We discuss how and when you could seek compensation if human error causes a data breach.
- Our advice on what to do if banking details are shared and whether you can start a claim.
These resources may also prove useful:
- The ICO discloses action they’ve taken against organisations for not adhering to data protection laws.
- Advice from the National Cyber Security Centre on data breaches.
- Learn about types and symptoms of anxiety from a leading charity, Anxiety UK.
If you would like more information about password data breach claims, or your own chances of claiming, please call today.